By TOM BELL Staff Writer -- After years of talking about the need to extend public transportation to communities north of Portland, the state has begun a study to determine if the idea is worth pursuing.

By GEORGE CHAPPELL; OF THE NEWS STAFF AUGUSTA - Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday that he remains committed to expanding freight and passenger rail systems in the state's future, despite a recent $95 million setback in the two- year budget cycle that began July 1.

By TOM BELL Staff Writer The Baldacci administration has come to view rail cars as a green transportation alternative to trucks.

By Tom Groening, Bangor Daily News, Maine Jun. 5--AUGUSTA -- The $113 million transportation bond voters will be asked to approve on June 12 is unprecedented in size, according to Transportation Commissioner David Cole. But so is the need.